Chapter 22:

Jinx Holiday, 13, District Ten

"Are you ready?"

Jinx turns towards her mentor, smiling and giggling at his question. Is she ready? For the Games to start? She thinks so, but would he say the same for her? "I'm ready to get back home to Sally!"

Johan sits next to her, kind smile on his face that's so similar to the smiles that Sally gives Jinx back home, making her smile falter. She misses her best friend so much…she has to get back home alive. There's no question about it. And once she wins, she can't get arrested because this is legal murdering and they won't arrest the victor! And the boy isn't a problem anymore. So who is going to stop her from being with Sally?

"Jinx…" Johan says slowly, thinking over his response which just makes Jinx nervously giggle. "I believe in you. I genuinely believe that you have a chance to win… Just don't do anything rash in the arena."

"Rash? Why do you say that?" Jinx giggles anxiously, knowing she's about to do exactly that. But Stark told her that she would be a good girl… And she likes having allies! It's fun knowing she has secret allies and she's excited to surprise everyone at the bloodbath that she's teamed up with Stark and Keelin. Who would have thought that the girl from Ten of all places would be allied with a career? "I'm just doing what he asked me to do!" Jinx nervously blurts out before realizing she wasn't supposed to say anything…

"He?" Johan asks in confusion and he gives Jinx a very concerned look that just makes her laugh nervously. She wants to tell Johan, she really does. He's been so nice to her this entire time…but she told Stark she wouldn't say anything… She just wants to be a good girl and get home to Sally. "Jinx, if you have allies, you need to tell me about them now." He lets out a sigh as he sees how nervous she is and places a hand on her shoulder while trying to give her an encouraging smile. "I'm trying to help you and I want you to know that I'm going to do everything I can to help you in the arena. But I need to know whatever you're planning to do and any allies you might have so I can work with their mentors for sponsors."

"I…" Jinx hesitates to tell Johan, knowing she's not supposed to…Stark said she would be a good girl if she didn't tell her mentor… But she feels bad not telling him. She wishes Sally were here to help her…she would know exactly what Jinx should do.

"Jinx, I promise I'm not going to be mad or judge you at all," Johan holds out a pinky to her and Jinx nervously giggles at it. "Pinky promise. I know you're a good person and just trying to survive."

A good person… Jinx takes his pinky in hers as her smile grows to being genuine once more. She's been ready to burst being unable to tell Johan about her alliance. "I'm going to help Stark kill Ampora!"

Johan is silent as he stares at her for a few seconds, making her nervously giggle as she waits for his response. "Jinx, you can't do that. You're going to get hurt!"

"But I told Stark I would!" Jinx tells him, starting to shake her head as she just doesn't know what to do. "He said I would be a good girl for helping out him and Keelin and I couldn't tell you."

"Because he knew I would talk sense into you," Johan mutters under his breath and shakes his head before clearing his throat. He moves closer, making sure Jinx meets his gaze before he continues, "Jinx, please…you can't do that. Ampora is a trained tribute. You aren't going to make it out of that fight unharmed, if you even make it out alive. Please…don't ally with Stark at all. I want to see you win and this won't help you win… Don't you want to win for Sally?"

"I do!" Jinx answers, nodding her head rapidly as she just even more confused about what to do. "I volunteered so I could be safe and be with Sally."

"Then you have to stay safe," Johan tells her gently and she giggles anxiously at this. "Would Sally want you putting yourself at risk being Stark's ally?" Jinx shakes her head at him, knowing Sally would never want that. In fact, she would be very unhappy if she knew…and Jinx just wants to make her happy. "Then don't be his ally. Jinx…please, I'm begging you, do not ally with Stark. Careers are never good people."

"Okay," Jinx finally says, knowing she can't be Stark's ally, no matter how much fun his plan seemed. Sally would never be happy with her doing that and she never wants to disappoint Sally. "I won't be his ally."

"Good," Johan lets out a sigh of relief and Jinx giggles at that. "Jinx, you need to be careful with your choices in the arena. Just…" He pauses to think of his response and she giggles in the silence, but he doesn't seem uncomfortable by the noise, not like all the other tributes. "Keep reminding yourself that you have to do whatever to get home to Sally. But also make sure you don't do anything you'll regret later… I know you're a good girl, you truly are, just don't let the arena ruin that."

Jinx feels are warm inside at getting called a good girl by Johan, almost just like how she feels when Sally calls her that, and she grins up at her mentor. "I will! I'll be a good girl and get home for you and Sally!"

"Okay," Johan answers with a genuine smile at her and suddenly he hugs her. She giggles at the unexpected hug but she hugs him back, really liking her mentor. He's always believed in her from the moment they got on the trains. "You got to be careful in there. I really want you to win. And I'm going to do whatever I can out here to help you win."

"I know you will!" Jinx happily responds as Johan lets go of her. "You're the best mentor of them all!"

Johan chuckles at this and shakes his head, but he still smiles at her. "I wouldn't say the very best, but I'm trying."

"Tributes, please report to the hovercrafts."

Jinx giggles as she looks up at the announcement. When she turns back to Johan, the smile is gone from his face and replaced with concern. "Alright…" Johan starts as he stands up, sighing before looking down at Jinx and trying to give her an encouraging smile. "Do you still feel ready?"

"Yep!" Jinx responds immediately, nodding her head at him and giggling a bit. If anything, she feels more ready now after talking to Johan. She knows what she has to do and that's whatever is going to get her back home to Sally. She's not afraid to kill in the arena. Why would she be afraid of that when she's already done it before? And this time there's no chance she'll get in trouble for it. They'll be excited when she kills now. "I'm ready to go!"

"Well, at least that makes one of us."

Jinx doesn't know why she can't stop the nervous pit in her stomach as she wanders around the small launch room, just giggling as she watches the screen set up in the room to show the tributes a countdown until launch. There's only a couple minutes left and she's all dressed and ready for the arena, wearing an outfit almost identical to the one she wore throughout training, just a gray top instead of her District's color of red. Her stylist sits off in the corner, his gaze following Jinx as she wanders around the room, but staying away from her now that she's dressed and ready for the arena. He doesn't try to keep up conversation and normally Jinx would have kept chattering away but right now, for some reason, she can't find the words to keep talking away.

Perhaps it's the bundle of nerves in her, making her stomach twist, but she knows there's no threat of her throwing up her breakfast. She hadn't felt nervous before leaving the tribute center so why is she feeling this way now? Maybe it's because Johan isn't around to talk to her anymore?

Or maybe it's knowing that she's about to ignore Stark's plan and he is going to be very angry about it… She's seen in training just how angry he can get when things don't go his way and she doesn't want that anger to get directed towards her. Will he decided to target her next? Will he go after her next once he has taken out Pride, Link, and Ampora? She really doesn't want that to happen… But Johan told her she can't be allies with Stark and she wants to listen to what her mentor told her. Then there's the fact that Sally wouldn't be happy with her and might not think she's a good girl for allying with Stark.

And she has to do whatever will make Sally happy.

So who knows? Maybe her not joining in the plan will make him get killed in the bloodbath and then she won't have to worry about him chasing her. That would be the best option. But will that actually happen? She doesn't know. How is she supposed to know that when she doesn't even know yet what she's going to do in the bloodbath?

Supplies. She should definitely get some supplies. Or at least a knife. A knife would be good to make sure she can kill people. Hopefully she'll be placed near Beta, it would be fun to go after him. Jinx giggles at the thought of him, amused at how he thinks she's always in his head. She doesn't get it but it's fun messing with him!

Yes, she'll go after Beta. That sounds like a fun plan. And then maybe anyone else that's around her.

"Tributes, please prepare for launch."

Jinx turns her head towards the launch tube, giggling anxiously at the fact that it's finally time. As she walks over to it, still giggling, she just repeats in her head that it's legal murdering. She's already done illegal murdering so how will this be any different? The difference is in what people will think of what she's done. No one will be mad at her for killing in the arena. They're going to love her for killing in here. Just look at how much they praise the career victors that kill several tributes. So why wouldn't can't she be like them?

Jinx looks over at her stylist, wondering if he will help her with anything. But he just motions her over towards the tube, staying put and away from her. Jinx just giggles at him staying away from her before heading over to the launch tube. Once she steps into the tube, glass slides down around her, trapping her in silence broken by her nervous laughter that echoes around as she waits the final few seconds. She can do this. She has to get home to Sally.

Slowly the platform below her starts to rise up and her anxious giggling increases in volume as she gets surrounded by darkness. She can see a small amount of light above her that grows in intensity as she gets closer to it. When she's pushed above the ground, she's blinded right away and has to squint and hold up a hand to help her see. But as she keeps blinking and trying to see, she slowly realizes that the arena is going to make it very difficult for that to happen.

Jinx is giggling nervously as she turns her attention away from the mirrored cornucopia standing in the middle of the circle the tributes are placed in and starts to look around at the high buildings surrounding her. Behind her are a series of large buildings, looking similar in shape and size and with a bunch of windows place in them. Across from her, she can catch sight of a circular building, standing tall and with extravagant angel statues made of glass lining the top of it. All of the buildings are reflecting back at them, some reflecting the bright sun into her eyes. But as she looks left at the imposing building that stands in front of the large circle they're placed in with the cornucopia and then right at the long path to a tall skyscraper, she slowly starts to realize where she stands.

After all, she was just standing in the City Circle just a few nights ago for the chariots.

Jinx brings her attention away from the glass and mirrored Capitol surrounding them, finally starting to pay attention to the tributes that are surrounding her. And when she does, she grows fearful when she realizes she was placed right in-between two of Stark's targets. How is she supposed to get away from him and not be his ally when he'll be going right towards her?

Jinx giggles anxiously as she grabs onto the beaded necklace she wears as her token, what was once a birthday gift from Sally. Sally…she has to make it back home for Sally.

"Welcome to the 113th Hunger Games," Elliot's voice echoes on the glass buildings around them and Jinx looks up briefly at his announcement. "And may the odds be ever in your favor!"

The sixty second countdown starts as Jinx turns her attention to the tributes surrounding her, almost a little afraid that she just doesn't know what to do right now. She has to make sure she gets out alive, yet she doesn't know if she can get supplies. Not when to her left she has Link, and a few of the careers farther away. Well, at least Beta is only a few spots from her. Maybe she can still go after him. But…between them are Link, Digit, and Gwenith… Link is the only one she's worried about. Beta glances over at her and she giggles and waves over at him, making him glare back at her before turning his attention to the items scattered around the mirrored cornucopia.

Jinx turns towards her other side, giggling even more in nervousness at the tributes on this side of her. Pride, Keelin, and Stark… Stark catches her gaze and raises an eyebrow at her before nodding out at the other tributes, trying to tell her silently to go after Ampora like he planned… But she can't. She promised Johan she wouldn't.

This is not good. She wants to go towards some of the items close to her, especially a shiny knife. But will she make it out alive?

"Shit!"

Everyone turns towards the boy that cried out and Jinx sees Link crouching down, desperately trying to grab a small wooden sphere as it falls down towards his platform. There's a ping that rings out among them as his wooden eye bounces on the platform and he reaches out to catch it. But his hands smack the eye away from him and he cries out just before it hits the ground around him.

Boom!

Jinx flinches at the loud explosion before staring at the exploded crater in shock for a second, eyes wide as she looks at the scattered blood and fragments of what used to be Link. She doesn't feel anything from his death, only a little spooked from the sheer volume of the explosion, even as she stares at the bloody remains on the ground. The silence the lingers in the air after his explosion lasts for only a few seconds until all the tributes surrounding Link start to react. The first one is loud laughter from Jinx's right as Stark roars in laughter. Digit also stares at the crater with her eyes wide in fear. Gwenith starts sobbing at the death, making Ryo call over to her from the other side of Stark.

Pyrite says something but Jinx can't hear what they said, starting to giggle at what happened, having no other clue how she should be reacting right now. They still have more than half a minute left on the countdown and already one person is dead by his own bad luck. And it was one of the people right next to her… Maybe she'll be able to get some supplies now! She just has to run away from Pride…

Jinx glances over at the remaining Reaped career, finding him glaring over at Stark still laughing in amusement, bent over with his hands on his knees. "Oh that's so great!" Stark says through his laughter, seemingly not carrying that Link's allies are glaring at him.

"Fuck you, Stark!" Pride yells over at him, but he doesn't seem to make Stark mad at all. If anything, he just makes the career laugh some more as he straightens up, wiping at his eyes as he tries to stop laughing and get focused again on the Games starting soon.

But as the seconds keep ticking by, she doesn't know if she will be able to get away from Pride without getting hurt. Or if she'll escape her old allies since they're so close to her. She clutches the beads on her necklace even tighter, giggling nervously at her situation. It really was lucky for her to have one of the threats surrounding her get killed before the Games actually started. If only that could happen to the others.

Jinx stops giggling suddenly, staring out at the crater from where the mines went off around Link. Her eyes turn down at the ground around hers, knowing she has identical mines around hers, all to stop the tributes from moving early. Slowly, she brings her gaze over to the angry career standing next to her, one hand tightening on her necklace as the other reaches towards the clasp.

Johan said to do whatever it takes to get back home to Sally… She has to get home. She can't let Sally down, not after promising her best friend that she would be a good girl and get home to her. She's doing all of this for Sally. She volunteered in the first place so she would be safe after killing the boy on accident. They won't be able to arrest her when she wins. And then she can be with Sally and nothing is going to be able to keep them apart.

Jinx starts giggling loudly in nervousness at what she's about to do, bringing the attention of a couple nearby tributes over towards her. With one quick movement, she undoes the clasp on the necklace and stares down at it in her hands. A plan slowly starts to form as she glances back at the countdown, finding less than thirty seconds remaining. She clenches her fist around the necklace Sally gave her for her birthday, knowing she's running out of time to make sure she makes it out of the bloodbath alive.

Jinx made a promise to Sally before she left District Ten. She told her best friend she would be good and become a victor for her. And she is going to do that. She'll do whatever it takes to make sure she gets home to Sally.

Sally, I'm being a good girl, I promise.

Welcome to the start of the 113th Hunger Games...